CHESS OPENING BOOKS

The first phase of a chess game is known as the Chess Opening. It is during this phase of the chess game that the initial moves are made. Similarly, those moves are commonly referred to in the chess world as the “Chess Opening”. While there are literally billions of possible positions after the first 4 moves have been made in a game of chess (288 billion to be exact), only a small number of these chess openings have been studied by chess professionals and chess computers and deemed to be sound for practical play.

To help differentiate one chess opening from another, each chess opening is given a unique name to identify it. While it is common for a chess opening to be named after the player/s that introduced them to popular play, including the Benko Gambit (after Grandmaster Pal Benko), the Sicilian Najdorf (named after Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf) and the Philidor Defense (named after Francois-Andre Danican Philidor), this is not always the case Some chess openings are named after the locations and/or cultures in which they originated, including the London System, the French Defense, the Sicilian Defense, The English Opening and the Vienna Game. While others are named after the pieces that are moved during that opening, including the Queen’s Pawn Gambit and the King’s Indian Defense.

There are 6 basic objectives during the chess opening. They are Piece Development, Control of the Center of the Board, King Safety, Prevention of Pawn Weakness, Piece Coordination and to Create positions in which the player is more comfortable than the opponent.

    The Slav
    The Slav Defense (1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6) has been one of Black's most reliable defenses to the queen's pawn since its adoption by World Champions Alekhine and Euwe in the 1930s. Nowadays it is very popular both at grandmaster level (it is used regularly by Ivanchuk, Lautier and Short) and with club players. In this book, Grandmaster Matthew Sadler explains the strategy and tactics of this perennial favorite. Through the use of model games for both sides, the author provides a thorough grounding in the key ideas so readers can quickly and confidently start to use the Slav in their own games.
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    The Slav

    Catalog Code: B0113EM
    Our Price: $19.95

    The Complete Najdorf 6. Bg5
    The Definitive Guide to Fischer and Kasparov's Favorite Chess Opening
    The Najdorf Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6) is the most important, popular, and talked about opening in chess. Its name is synonymous with such luminaries as Tal, Fischer, and Kasparov.
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    The Complete Najdorf 6. Bg5

    The Definitive Guide to Fischer and Kasparov's Favorite Chess Opening
    Catalog Code: B0012BT
    Our Price: $26.95

    Leningrad Dutch
    Strategy and Tactics
    This book arms the reader with a dynamic counter to White's 1. d4 and includes up-to-date game references along with fresh analysis and numerous original suggestions. Many 1.d4 players have a secret dread for the Leningrad Dutch and rightly so! Discover why increasing numbers of serious players are turning to the Leningrad Dutch in answer to White's solid 1. d4.
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    Leningrad Dutch

    Strategy and Tactics
    Catalog Code: B0014HY
    Our Price: $9.95

    Beating the King's Indian and Benoni
    Shock Your Opponents with the Four Pawns Attack!
    It seems unfair that Black gets all the attacking chances in the normal lines of the King's Indian. Readers can now take a tip from the World's leading expert of sharp systems and shock their opponent with the Four Pawn Attack! Black has countless ways to go wrong, while White is risking little if well-prepared. Vaisser's hitherto unpublished analysis will give readers the edge they need to send Black's King to the guillotine.
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    Beating the King's Indian and Benoni

    Shock Your Opponents with the Four Pawns Attack!
    Catalog Code: B0051BT
    Our Price: $9.95

    The New Classical King's Indian
    This book focuses on the King's Indian variations that have undergone the most dramatic change in the 1990's: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0. The system with ..Na6 receives full coverage, together with the traditional main lines of 7..Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 followed by Ne1 or Nd2.
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    The New Classical King's Indian

    Catalog Code: B0067BT
    Our Price: $9.95

    Queen's Gambit Accepted
    The Queen's Gambit Accepted is one of the oldest and most dependable ways for Black to meet White's queen's pawn opening. It leads to dynamic positions with free piece play in which the more enterprising player is likely to prevail. When Nigel Short used the QGA in his match with Anatoly Karpov in 1992, the opening became highly fashionable and it currently features prominently in the repertoires of grandmasters Joel Lautier and Matthew Sadler, among many others. This book provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the Queen's Gambit Accepted available. With an emphasis on currently fashionable lines that readers are likely to encounter in their own games, it provides everything you need to know to play the opening with White or Black. Iakov Neishtadt is an international master at correspondence chess and author of numerous books, including Winning Quickly with White and Winning Quickly with Black.
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    Queen's Gambit Accepted

    Catalog Code: B0178EM

    Regular Price: $24.95

    Special Price: $9.98


    Caro-Kann Advance
    The Advance variation of the Caro-Kann (1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5) is a highly aggressive method of countering one of Black's most solid defenses. White immediately seizes ground in the center and lays the basis of a middlegame attack. Over the past few years Alexei Shirov, Nigel Short, Veselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky have made major contribution to update the theory of this variation and their example has inspired thousands of club and tournament players to adopt it into their own repertoires. In this book, International Master Byron Jacobs explains the strategy and tactics of this highly fashionable variation. Through the use of model games for both sides, the author provides a thorough grounding in the key ideas, so that readers can quickly and confidently start to use the Advance Caro-Kann in their own games.
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    Caro-Kann Advance

    Catalog Code: B0180EM
    Our Price: $19.95

    Dutch Leningrad
    The Dutch Leningrad (1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6) is one of Black's most dynamic responses to the queen's pawn opening. From the first move, Black stakes a strong claim on the kingside, laying the groundwork for a potential attack on the white king. The Leningrad variation is a popular choice at club and tournament level as well as amongst grandmasters; it is a regular feature in the repertoires of Vassily Ivanchuk, Veselin Topalov and Mikhail Gurevich.
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    Dutch Leningrad

    Catalog Code: B0235EM

    Regular Price: $19.95

    Special Price: $7.98


    500 Sicilian Miniatures
    Sicilian miniatures of games 20 moves or less. They are arranged by Encyclopedia of Chess Openings classification system. Light notes are added at critical positions.
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    500 Sicilian Miniatures

    Catalog Code: CB0005XX
    Our Price: $9.95

    Nimzovich Attack: Norfolk Gambits
    This is Volume 1 in the author's new series Chess Openings For Hustlers. "You will find similar lines of attack and similar combination situations in several different lines. These can be either very useful (if you take the time to learn them) or very treacherous. The one thing the Norfolk Gambit should not do is bore you"-author. "Be warned: If you are a `bean counter' obsessed with saving pawns for an extended end-game, do not play these gambits! However, if you are willing to commit to an attack which will decimate the 'bean counters' of the chess world, this book is for you"- Phillip A. York.
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    Nimzovich Attack: Norfolk Gambits

    Catalog Code: CB0018CD
    Our Price: $4.95

    King's Indian Defense: Yugoslav Variation 6 ...c5
    There is no reason that the variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.0-0 c5 fell out of fashion. Soltis proves this by giving you excellent analysis and strategy in this variation. He brings back a 1950's variation to surprise your opponents. This system has a bit of a Benoni feel to it by attacking white's center with 6..c5 instead of 6..e5. This should be called the Gligoric system since it was the veteran GM Svetozar Gligoric who first demonstrated Black's resources most successfully. This system is a dangerous surprise weapon in the King's Indian that can be employed at all levels.
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    King's Indian Defense: Yugoslav Variation 6 ...c5

    Catalog Code: CB0029CD
    Our Price: $9.95

    Winning with 1. c4
    Winning with 1. c4
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    Winning with 1. c4

    Catalog Code: CB0041CD
    Our Price: $9.95

    Black Defensive System for the Rest of Your Chess Career
    Many top flight chess players do well with an armory of different completely unrelated openings. But they are, as we said, top flight players. For the player who is stil learning, we propose an opening repertoire that forms an organic whole using Black's ..d5 and ..c6 in the Queen's Gambit Slav Defense and the Caro-Kann Defense. We give defenses to all other White openings using the same moves(such as Reti, English, King's Indian Attack, Catalan, etc..). The point of this book is to develop an opening system for playing the Black pieces. What we present is not just a series of random variations - which taken individually may be good - but a system that forms a cohesive whole based on common ideas.
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    Black Defensive System for the Rest of Your Chess Career

    Catalog Code: CB0078CD
    Our Price: $9.95

    Sveshnikov Sicilian
    The Sveshnikov variation of the Sicilian Defense leads to dynamic positions with free piece play and provides enterprising players with the type of active game on which they can thrive. It became fashionable in the 1970s under the influence of Evgeny Sveshnikov and other grandmasters from Chelyabinsk, and has remained at the cutting edge of opening theory ever since. In recent years it has been a favorite of the exciting young stars Vladimir Kramnik and Alexei Shirov, and of the author himself, all of whom have introduced important new ideas.
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    Sveshnikov Sicilian

    Catalog Code: B0209EM

    Regular Price: $19.95

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    New Ideas in the Sveshnikov Sicilian
    The Sicilian Defence features many dramatic variations, but for sheer violence, few can equal the Sveshnikov. Black aims for maximum piece activity at the cost of a shattered pawn structure. Black's aim is to seize the initiative, regardless of the cost. If he is successful, then the pawns will look after themselves. On the other hand, white is looking to use black's weaknesses as spring-boards for a ferocious attack of his own.
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    New Ideas in the Sveshnikov Sicilian

    Catalog Code: B0045BT

    Regular Price: $9.95

    Special Price: $3.98


    Beating the Anti-King's Indian
    This book provides a complete repertoire for King's Indian players against all of white's attempts to avoid the main lines. How to defuse attacking systems such as the Four Pawns. Aggressive lines against Exchange Variations. Recommended psychology against unambitious opponents
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    Beating the Anti-King's Indian

    Catalog Code: B0050BT
    Our Price: $9.95

    The Fianchetto King's Indian
    This is White's fianchetto against the King's Indian Defense 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3. An ideal choice for those who want to deny King's Indian players their usual attacking plans. White's harmonious scheme of development, envisaging strong pressure against Black's queenside, has appealed to many of the all-time greats - Alekhine, Botvinnik, Karpov, and Kasparov.
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    The Fianchetto King's Indian

    Catalog Code: B0063BT
    Our Price: $9.95

    Understanding the Spanish
    Understanding an opening is more important the knowing a mass of variations. For no opening is this more true than for the Spanish. The most famous of chess openings leads to a deep strategic maneuvering battle. Experienced GM's seem almost clairvoyant when handling the positions. It is not a sixth sense, but a knowledge of the typical maneuvers and themes that enable them to have their pieces where they need them, when they need them. This book provides a complete course in helping the reader to understand those themes.
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    Understanding the Spanish

    Catalog Code: B0070BT
    Our Price: $9.95

    An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player
    The average club or tournament player has little time for an exhaustive study of opening theory, but does need to obtain a satisfactory middle-game position. This work is intended to provide all he needs to know to reach interesting and sharp positions which offer good prospects for the imaginative player. The authors give one line against each popular variation, with particular care being taken to choose systems which will suit the attacking player's style.
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    An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player

    Catalog Code: B0113BT
    Our Price: $12.95

    An Opening Repertoire For the Attacking Player
    One of the hardest tasks competitive chess players face is the development of an opening repertoire suited to their own style of play. In this book, Grandmaster Gufeld makes the job easier by providing an ideal framework for a practical opening repertoire, specifically tailored for those who relish attacking play.
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    An Opening Repertoire For the Attacking Player

    Catalog Code: B0265EM
    Our Price: $17.95

    Inside Chess Opening Novelties: KID Bayonet Attack
    White attacks the Queenside with 9.b4 in the Classical Variation of the King's Indian Defense 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Nf3 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7. The Introduction explains what is happening, then each of ten chapters has a short comment on theory. There is a total of 200 games with the main ones having notes.
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    Inside Chess Opening Novelties: KID Bayonet Attack

    Catalog Code: CB0003XX
    Our Price: $9.95

    Chess Openings Lexicon
    If you're looking for an easy-to-use guide for identifying, classifying and describing all of the Chess openings and their variations, look no further than this book!!

    When it comes to the chess openings, most chess players are completely confused by the endless number of openings and their variations.
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    Chess Openings Lexicon

    Catalog Code: CB0017CD
    Our Price: $6.95

    The Anti-Meran Botvinnik
    Recent analysis and forgotten ideas on this Slav Defense variation where White plays 5.Bg5 and a later sac 9.Nxg5. Any 1.d4 player who hopes to fight for an advantage against the otherwise solid Semi-Slav must be prepared from both sides of the board.
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    The Anti-Meran Botvinnik

    Catalog Code: CB0017XX
    Our Price: $9.95

    The Fighting Fajarowicz
    The Budapest, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5, is really a counterattack rather than a defense. It appeals to players who like to challenge White for the initiative early in the game. This particularly applies to the Fajarowicz Variation, 3.dxe4 Ne4, in which(by contrast with the 3..Ng4 main line of the Budapest) Black puts more emphasis on fighting for key squares than on seeking the early recapture of the pawn he has given up. This book contains 3 different sections: 1)Ideas for black to aim for and areas to avoid; 2)A 12 chapter Analysis section(including one with explanation on what to do if white avoids the Fajarowicz on move 3; and 3)A Complete Games section with well over 300 games ranging from unannotated to lightly annotated for you to study.
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    The Fighting Fajarowicz

    Catalog Code: CB0019CD
    Our Price: $7.95

    The Dynamic Philidor Counter-Gambit
    Black defends his King's pawn before proceding with similar play as in the Greco Counter-Gambit. Suddenly White does not have positional play against a Philidor Defense, but is thrown into tactical complications of this gambit. You, as Black, will know what to do while your opponent eats time on his clock trying, repeat trying, to find his way. Black is playing to win.
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    The Dynamic Philidor Counter-Gambit

    Catalog Code: CB0068CD
    Our Price: $5.95

    Winning with the Giuoco Piano and the Max Lange Attack
    here are 30 important theoretical revisions in this 2nd edition. Nine chapters cover 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4. Learn both a positional and a dynamic attacking weapon to shatter your opponents' King's pawn defenses.
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    Winning with the Giuoco Piano and the Max Lange Attack

    Catalog Code: CB0070CD
    Our Price: $9.95

    How to Play the Torre Attack - Second, Thoroughly Revised Edition
    White plays 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 followed by Bg5. The Torre Attack is a very flexible opening employed by white which involves quick development and fight for control of the e4 square. A standard setup would involve placing the queen's knight on d2, light-squared bishop to d3, king's rook to e1 after a quick castling, and pawn to e3 or e4. However, there is a flexibility that allows for many different setups, depending on the strategic path that the white player wishes to employ and black's setup. This flexible, dynamic system has been employed by virtually every top GM at some point in their career, even at the World Championship match level. Schiller shows why this opening system should be part of every player's repertoire.
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    How to Play the Torre Attack - Second, Thoroughly Revised Edition

    Catalog Code: CB0075CD
    Our Price: $4.95

    Evan's Gambit and a System vs. 2 Knights
    Evan's Gambit and a System vs. 2 Knights
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    Evan's Gambit and a System vs. 2 Knights

    Catalog Code: CB0096CD
    Our Price: $7.95

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